Sirius CEO Clarifies Earlier Remarks About Prices After XM Merger

Karmazin Says Consumers Will Not Be Gouged After Merger

Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin, “tried to reassure House members yesterday that customers would not be gouged if the FCC approves” the company’s merger with XM, according to Charles Babington of the WASHINGTON POST. Consumers currently would have to pay $25.90 a month to receive all of Sirius and XM’s content, but Karmazin told the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Telecommunications & the Internet that under a merger, “prices will drop significantly from that,” and the discount would probably be “closer to [$10] than to 2.” Karmazin believes that customers would “benefit from more choices, such as having the [NFL] and [MLB] on one satellite network.” Karmazin’s testimony last week “left some with the impression that a merged XM-Sirius company would not raise monthly subscription rates above about $12.95, even if content from the two companies were combined” (WASHINGTON POST, 3/8). Karmazin said that customers could pay less for “a single service package that didn’t include all the programming.” He noted that “a music fan who didn’t want any sports programming could opt for a package that would cost less than $12.95” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/8).

KEEPING RECORDS: Karmazin “supports paying artists to allow satellite radio subscribers to record music from their radio.” Karmazin: “We’re implementing my viewpoint at Sirius. We have made an accommodation with the various music labels” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/8).